


doll parts

by hallownest



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/M, platonic, this is just 1700 words of dialogue sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 04:09:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18066320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hallownest/pseuds/hallownest
Summary: “You know, you’re much more fun to talk to when you’re not trying to impress someone. It feels like I’m talking to an actual person now.”“I could say the same for you, Okumura-san.”





	doll parts

**Author's Note:**

> catch these hands @ https://twitter.com/nadireon
> 
> this isn't anything spectacular i just felt like writing these two

A scoop of soil falls into a clay pot.

Haru firmly packs it in, flicking the dirt off the rim of the pot. She moves the now-empty soil bag aside and lugs out another with an impressive ease.

She’s stronger than she looks, he thinks, distantly. It’s easy to disregard her as weak, lambish, but she couldn’t be, not when she could swing an axe so easily. Stress-relief, she had called it in Mementos, when she had cleanly decapitated a shadow. He can’t help but wonder how she’s dealing with that stress now, in a time where she can no longer hack away her bottled up emotions.

Akira had insisted it was his turn to help with Haru’s gardening. Goro knew it was a horrible, terrible idea, but he also knew that Akira was very into the idea of Goro being able to, at the very least, co-exist with the rest of his friends, so he decided to do it for his sake. 

“Akechi-kun?” Haru’s voice makes him realizes he’d been staring into the distance. 

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was lost in my own head.” he chuckles, moving one of her plants back to its proper arrangement. She’d made a nice place for herself, having moved her gardening to a place not far from her home -- though she’s hardly self-made, Goro’s innermost demons begin to hiss. He shakes his head and tries to shove them back down. No; Haru hadn’t had an easy life -- had she? 

Maybe she has, Goro’s bitterness takes the opportunity to worm itself into his head. Maybe she’s going to turn out just like her father—

“Oh,” Haru remarks, turning to him. “About what, if I might ask?”

She’s still trying to be polite, but he can tell something, rather if it was his spacing out or some facial expression he unwittingly made, gives her tone a colder edge to it. He really shouldn’t get this riled up this easily, shouldn’t be this petty when Haru even entertaining his company was a blessing in of itself, but, well, his habits hadn’t died hard as much as they were kept on a leash.

“It wasn’t anything important,” Goro inhales, digging his fingers into the soil. “But, Okumura-san, I was wondering; what do you plan to do with your .. inheritance? I’m aware you plan to start a cafe chain. Is that all?”

Haru stares at him for a few seconds before she sighs, as annoyed as she is unimpressed. 

“So that’s what this is about, isn’t it? You’ve been on edge since I let you in, and it’s all because you’re so concerned of what I’ll do with the assets my father left me? My father, who would still be alive if you hadn’t killed him?”

Goro makes a wounded noise. He knows, whole-heartedly, that he is in the wrong, but instead of admitting that, he instead digs himself a deeper grave. 

“Why -- why do you care? He was horrible to you. Why would you be so grieved over the person that made you a victim?”

“Because I wanted someone that cared about me!” Haru nearly shouts, her hands shaking. “I didn’t have any friends, any siblings, all I had was my father and my fiance that treated me like a dog! I thought, if I could change my father’s heart, he would love me again -- he’d null my contract with that horrible man, and everything would be okay again.”

“Oh, boo-hoo,” Akechi snarls like a cornered animal, curling his fingers. “Daddy can’t take care of everything for you now that he’s gone.”

“At least I didn’t commit murder under mine because I thought a bad novella revenge fantasy needed playing out!”

There’s a thick silence between them. Goro’s shoulders fall in resignation. He’s dumb enough to have instigated, but smart enough to back off when he knows he’s lost.

“... What do you want from me, anyway, Akechi? If your goal was to upset me, then you’ve succeeded.”

He wonders himself. His inner voice that tells him he needs to ruin everything for himself, he supposes. 

“I’m sorry,” he sighs, figuring it was the easiest thing to do at this point. Haru’s eyes widen in surprise. “I know you’ve already heard that from me one too many times. I -- I don’t know, really. I suppose I’m just jealous?” he asks gloomily.

“Why? My situation isn’t one to be envied, wealth aside. All my material desires could be taken care of, and for a while, that was why I was okay with being my father’s puppet. Anytime I would object, he’d tell me I was being ungrateful, that I could at least ‘do this for him’ after all he had done for me. For a while, I thought that if I didn’t obey him, I was a bad daughter. Because that’s what he told me, in essence.”

Goro blinks, another newfound wave of outrage washing over him. “Was he … always like this?”

“Mhm. At least, as far as I can remember. He didn’t have much money as a child, but … I don’t think he ever acquired what he did with his future child in mind. Even if he had, it wouldn’t have excused the abuse of his workers.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted him to go back to the man he once was?”

Haru pauses. “I … did, yes. But now that I think about it, I’m not sure if he was ever really kind to me. Maybe I just never noticed it when I was a child, so he seemed nicer then. I’d like to think he cared about me, but now that you bring it up, everything points to him only seeing me as an investment.”

“I guess we have something in common, then,” Goro laughs wryly. “Our fathers are both terrible people.”

Haru’s smile is thin, but present. “I suppose so. I still wish he were alive for the sake of closure, but … I don’t actually blame you. At least, not entirely.”

“That’s fair.” He’s been coming to better terms with his past as of late, and it’s talks like these that help him along. It’s a little amazing, how the two of them could go for each other’s throats one moment and be having a good, productive conversation the next.

“But… you didn’t answer my question earlier, you know.”

“Hm?”

“How could you envy me?”

Akechi has a hard time putting this specific emotion into his words, but he tries his best and hopes it’s at least somewhat accurate. “Oh, I’d undoubtedly be as discontent in your past position as you were. But now, I suppose it’s just — you know what you want to do and you have the resources to make it happen. I could continue my detective work, but it’d be difficult. I’d have a hard time facing Sae-san again.”

“I think facing things head on is the only real way you’ll be able to console yourself, Akechi-kun. At least, that’s how I’m coming to terms with things. And … you don’t have to go through life alone, now. Neither of us do.”

“..Ah. I guess you’re right.” He’s unsure of what to say beyond that. He’d mastered small-talk, but actual, heartfelt talks were still a different beast he’d not had enough experience with to be any good at.

Haru giggles. “You know, you’re much more fun to talk to when you’re not trying to impress someone. It feels like I’m talking to an actual person now.”  
“I could say the same for you, Okumura-san.”

It is cheeky, but Haru doesn’t seem to be offended by it. Her eyes, instead, glint with amusement. “I suppose you could. As for what you brought up before -- I’m not sure yet. I’ve been using some of my inheritance to feed Yusuke and help Ryuji and his mother, but aside from that … I’d like to use the money to help those less fortunate than myself.”

Goro tries to shove away the immediate guilt he feels for the sake of the conversation. “... I see. Again, I’m sorry for prying.”

To his surprise, she shakes her head. “You definitely could have went about it in a better way, but I don’t think it’s a bad concern to have. I certainly feel as if I have something to pay, considering the methods my father used to obtain his wealth to begin with.”

“I wouldn’t blame yourself too much. You didn’t have much to do with your father’s actions. Even if you could afford the luxury of speaking out, I doubt the public would have believed you.”

“... Straightforward as always,” Haru laughs. “But, I hope you think the same about yourself. Some of the blame does rest with you, but I think you know that.”

Goro nods. They keep talking; for how long, he isn’t sure, but the sun has set by the time they’re finally wrapping up.

“I don’t think we accomplished much in the way of gardening, Okumura-san.” he laughs, helping put things back so his company will have at least been slightly useful.

“Mm, that’s okay. You can come again some time, if you’d like. I wouldn’t want to keep you here much longer, though. I’d feel awful if you missed your train because of me.”

“I’ll take you up on the offer sometime, but -- thank you, for putting up with me. I don’t deserve your patience.”

“You’re less trouble than you think.”

“But still some trouble?” He shoots back playfully.

“The right amount.”

Goro only laughs, standing up and dusting off his clothes. “Well, I’m glad you think so. I’d best be going.”

She walks him off to the station, the rest of what they say consisting of small talk. There’s more to say, he thinks, but it’s already been a long -- but not unpleasant -- day.

“Take care, Akechi-kun.” She sends him off warmly. She doesn’t hug him, like he’d seen her do with the others, but it doesn’t much bother him -- one day wasn’t going to bridge the distance between them and that was okay.

“You too.” He nods, and steps onto the train.

It’s only when he gets home does he notice there’s an extra weight to his carrier. Curious, he unzips it, the strong aroma of coffee overwhelming him, barely concealed by the bag they were wrapped in.

He already knows why it’s there, now -- Haru must have sneaked it in somehow -- but the note stapled to the top, with an _Enjoy!_ written out in glitter pen, brings an extra warmth to his smile. 


End file.
